Footloose Adventure Travel: Tibet Everest

Lhasa Express with Everest Base Camp 8 days

Day 01 Arrive in Lhasa, you will be met at the train station and transferred to hotel, where rooms have been booked for you. Evening free.

Day 02 Today will be spent exploring palaces. First on your list will be the Potala Palace. The palace of the Dalai Lama a treasure of Tibetan culture was, till 1965, the seat of both religion and politics in Tibet and quite possibly, the singularly most important building in all Tibet. It was built in the seventh century by Tsongtsen Gampo as a fort and later renovated by the fifth Dalai Lama in the seventeenth century to its present specifications. Your next stop will be Norbulingkha the winter palace of the Dalai Lama which was built in the eighteenth century.

Day 03 Today you will visit the Drepung monastery. This is the largest monastery in the world and once housed 10,000 monks and nuns. It was built in 1419 and the second , third and fourth Dalai Lamas lived and were entombed here. A visit to the kitchen of this monastery is a must. Look out for the washing machine in which the monks mix their butter tea! Your next stop will be the Jokhang Temple. This is the holiest shrine in Tibet and houses a golden statue of the Buddha which was brought to Tibet by the Chinese princess "Wen Chen". You then stop off at Barkhor Bazaar outside the Jokhang monastery. This is a bustling flea market and is, generally, the place to buy souvenirs and meet other tourists.

Day 04 An early morning start from Lhasa and a 259 km drive will get you to Gyantse via Yamdrok Tso or the "Turquoise Lake". Sightseeing tour of Gyangtse and a short drive of 95 km will see you at Xigatse at an elevation of 3810 m. Xigatse is the second largest city in Tibet and the capital of the province of Tsang. The rulers of this province had domonion over all of Tibet prior to 1642 AD. At Xigatse you will visit Tashilunpo Monastery which is the seat of the Panchen Lama who is second in spiritual importance only to the Dalai Lama. The monastery was built in 1447 by Gendun Drup and once housed upward of 3400 monks. Of particular interest at Tashilunpo is a nine story gilded statue of Maitreya - the "Future Buddha".

Day 05 From Xigatse you will drive to Xegar via Sakya Monastery. The Monastery is 143 km south of Xigatse and was built in the thirteenth century by Konchok Gyalpo and houses some 30,000 volumes of ancient Buddhist scriptures or Sutras. Continue to Rogbuk Valley which is just below the spectacular North Face of Everest. Overnight at Rongbuk.

Day 06: The views are great from Rongbuk, however, for even stunning views you will go further to Base Camp which is 2 hours walk from Rongbuk. Back to Rongbuk and overnight.

Day 07: Drive back via Thangla Pass 5200m and a long descend to Nylam. Ovenright at Nylam, a small village. Overnight at a guest house.

Day 08: Drive 33 km to Zhangmu, a trading town between Nepal and Tibet, go through immigration and continue to Kodari, border between Tibet and Nepal. A representative of Himalayan Journeys will meet you a Kodari, on the Nepalese side of the border across the Friendship Bridge. You will board the waiting vehicle and drive the 114 km to Kathmandu.

Prices Based on B&B basis.
The current visa fee is US$48.00 which is also included in the price.